Small Business Saturday offers more mindful shoppers a way to enjoy Thanksgiving and then support the local community two days later. American Express launched Small Business Saturday in November 2010 to help bring attention to smaller stores in communities and encourage shoppers to support local business instead of just megastores on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Check out our list of a few East Charlotte business you can shop today!

When a you buy local, significantly more of that money stays in the community. In fact, one Chicago study found that for every $100 spent at a local business, $68 remained in the city while only $43 of each $100 spent at a chain retailer.

Local businesses give our community its flavor. Towns across America have similar chain restaurants, grocery and department stores but that diner down the street where you have breakfast every Saturday morning is one-of-a-kind. The combined presence of our area’s many local businesses makes it different from every other city in the world.

Charlotte East is a great place to find perfect gifts this holiday. No need to head to the mall when you have a wide range of specialty shops in close proximity. Shop local and show support for our vibrant community! While you’re out, be sure to have bunch, lunch, drinks, or dinner at once of our many restaurants. I’ve posted a selection of East Charlotte shops below but it’s by no means exhaustive. Head east and explore!

Green with Envy: Last year I bought a lot of my holiday gifts here. There’s a fun selection of unique gifts for anyone in your life – funky apparel, home decor items like candles and picture frames, lots of local Charlotte items, and even Poo-pourri.

Social Status: Birthplace of the Social Status brand, the Charlotte location has laid the foundation for Social Status boutiques since 2005. Social Status – Charlotte was launched in the Plaza/Midwood area. The boutique was designed to put emphasis not only on apparel and footwear, but to bring lifestyle back into the boutique atmosphere. Tastemakers from around North Carolina and the Southeast region of the US shop this location for the latest in sneakers and luxury fashion.

Buffalo Exchange: Buffalo Exchange is unique because clothing is bought, sold and traded locally with customers. They buy clothing and accessories for both men and women, giving you the option to take cash or store trade on the spot.

Boris + Natasha: A fav! The last time I was in here a customer walked in wearing a LIVE PYTHON. Only in Plaza Midwood. Unique fashion for both men and women.

City Supply: If Santa is bringing furniture this holiday, he should check out City Supply. Besides furniture there’s original art, candles, home decor.

CLTCH:CLTCH (pronounced clutch) is one of the newest spots on the East Charlotte fashion scene. They’re closed Black Friday but will be ready to greet you on Small Business Saturday, Nov 28. They’ve extended their hours for the holidays.

Slate Interiors: A multi-merchant venue representing over 60 merchants and artists, Slate is a destination shop for exceptional one-of-a-kind finds. Open to the public and design professionals alike, they carry a daily-changing collection of home furnishings, accessories, lighting, and original art. Many items leave as quickly as they come in, so check in regularly – you don’t want to miss out!

Yoga One: A popular yoga studio in East Charlotte. Their Marketplace is a go-to shop fo the yogi in your life.

Gumbo: Another new addition to East Charlotte, this lifestyle shop is full of products with people behind them that care about their craft, their impact, and their customer.

I moved to the Windsor Park neighborhood in East Charlotte in 2008. At that time, the whole city was in the heady days of what we now consider a real estate bubble before The Great Recession. The first leg of the LYNX Blue Line light rail opened and so much progress seemed possible. On Black Friday of 2008, there was a report on WFAE about the traffic-packed roads around regional malls filled with holiday shoppers. The contrast of that report to the nearly empty parking lot at Eastland Mall compelled me to write to our City officials. I’ve made my annual Black Friday email to the Charlotte City Council a holiday tradition.

Eastland Mall was still open back in 2008 but there were grand plans. The Eastland Area Plan (developed in 2003) was only five years old at that point and the recommendations for the area seemed viable in that economic climate. We all well know the dark days that followed the market crash and the real estate bust. We all got economic whiplash. Eastland closed for good in 2010 and the City of Charlotte bought the mall in 2012. Eastland was demolished in the fall of 2013. Cleared of buildings, the scars left behind created dangerous drop offs which have been mitigated by ugly chain-link fencing, orange barrier plastic, and unwelcoming no trespassing signs.

For a suburban city with no real Main Street community experience, malls represented a community crossroads of sorts. When people talk about Eastland Mall, they don’t talk about the great deals they found. Rather, they’re nostalgic about connecting with others and shared experiences – all those ice skating birthday parties. Eastland is where people had their first dates, their first jobs, where they shopped for appliances for their first homes. It’s where people saw E.T. and Jaws. For East Charlotte residents, Eastland isn’t just about economics; it’s about community development.

If Charlotte-Mecklenburg is serious about addressing economic mobility, we must address Eastland. Well meaning efforts to find a suitable master project for Eastland revitalization at Eastland have been proposed. There’s no shortage of good ideas and good intentions. In the wake of failed proposals, the City of Charlotte is working to develop a plan for the area that addresses community needs and goals. The City has owned the property since 2012 and there is only a conceptual plan in place. Sketches and ideas have been produced and shared with City Council but these are only concepts and will rely on the market for development and timing. Conversations have been held with community partners like CMS and Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation. These conversations are only now partially beginning to yield results as a school has been proposed for part of the Eastland site. Meaningful market research and analysis to help drive developer interest in the rest property has not yet been completed.

As those plans are finalized and developed must the Eastland property continue to degrade? What can be done to help make this transitional site more attractive to the surrounding community?:

Maintain current street-side landscaping: The mulch around the established landscaping is long gone. The shrubs and other landscaping is overgrown. The areas that are visible to passers-by should be maintained at a high standard. Replace damaged street trees.

Repair pavement at the Open Air Market: If the area is to be leased to commercial vendors, the pavement should be maintained. Currently there are pot holes and eroded pavement. This is a safety concern.

Provide fencing that adequately protects residents from the site dangers while providing an attractive appearance: Eliminate the chain-link fencing and install wooden fencing. Create marketing materials for the fencing that advertise a development opportunity and generate excitement.

Begin meaningful community conversations about the future of Eastland: Hold a town hall style meeting with the incoming Mayor and City Council for them to hear from engaged and concerned citizens. Follow up with update meetings and provide updates and timelines on the Eastland website.

Move up the development of marketing materials and research: Do all we can to encourage a faster development opportunity while maintaining a quality project.

I remain optimistic about the future of Eastland and the opportunity for East Charlotte to finally participate in the development that other areas of the city have enjoyed. Working together and with a sense of urgency, we can bring East Charlotte’s soul back to life.

East Charlotte has been home to the Southern Christmas Show for the past 48 years! For many people it is a holiday tradition. This year, the show will run from November 11 – 22 and the producers expect more than 100,000 people to visit the show at The Park Expo and Conference Center on Independence Boulevard. They’ll have a lot to enjoy with more than 400 holiday merchants, regional crafts, wineries, and seasonal entertainment.

The Charlotte Open Air Market opened just last weekend at the site of the former Eastland Mall. Located on Central Avenue, the market grew in numbers of vendors and shoppers in its second weekend proving the demand for grassroots retail in east Charlotte.

The Charlotte Open Air Market is a great way for local entrepreneurs to show their wares without the huge overhead of a brick-and-mortar retail location.

The family friendly atmosphere of the Charlotte Open Air Market is welcoming and provides a great opportunity for a treasure hunt!

CLTCH is filled with men’s and women’s jewelry, bags, books, accessories and other “collectible objects of desire” and also serves as a gallery for displaying and selling pieces from local and national artists.

I’m excited to check out the new store and boutique concept that carries on east Charlotte’s history of small business development and quirky entrepreneurial spirit… anyone remember Superior Feet?

Monthly spending in May rose the most in six years. … Personal consumption expenditures — a broad measure of Americans’ spending activity — rose 0.9% in May, its best monthly gain since August 2009, according to the Commerce Department.

East Charlotte has a wide array of shopping options with both local and national retailers. Central Avenue, 7th Street/Monroe Road, Albemarle Road, and Independence Blvd are the main shopping thoroughfares while nodes of retail are peppered across the area. East Charlotte continues to enable start-up small business with a variety of commercial real estate while also supporting major national retailers.

Here are a few unique east Charlotte retailers:

Green with Envy is located at 1111 Central Ave at Hawthorne Lane. Their shop is a funky and fun space. This is a great spot to find a unique gift as they have an assortment of bath, candles, clothing, jewelry, baby items, and local art. My partner and I found a lot of our holiday gifts there this past year and appreciated their great customer service.

We were founded with a desire to fill a missing niche of unique, classic, modern home furnishings. We believe that well designed, and well made products should be timeless and affordable. We strive to maintain a consistently fresh inventory of unique products scoured from around the world.

Across the street from City Supply Co, is probably Charlotte’s most unique boutique, Boris + Natasha. I love this place and the last time I was there a customer was wearing a live snake! Only in Plaza Midwood, my friends! Boris + Natasha has an eclectic mix of sexy chic vintage and new clothing. This is the spot to refine your boho-rocker look.

Be in the know: CLTCH is coming soon to Plaza Midwood. Adding to the great shopping options in east Charlotte is CLTCH a jewelry, lifestyle, and accessory shop. Their Facebook page is pointing to a July opening and will feature an in-house styling room from Styled Now.